Brunswick Council to Push for Changes to Threatened MRRA at Emergency Board Meeting

The Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority (MRRA) will hold an emergency public meeting to discuss the Aug. 19 chemical spill at Brunswick Executive Airport, the Brunswick City Council announced.

Brunswick Council Chairwoman Abby King announced Monday evening that after discussion and some pressure earlier in the day, the MRRA will hold an emergency public meeting next Friday at 3:00 p.m. a little over exactly one month since 1,450 gallons of fire foam concentrate mixed with 50,000 gallons of water was spilled in Hangar 4.

At Monday’s meeting, Brunswick Fire Chief Ken Brillant said the MRRA told the fire department that this year’s fire sprinkler inspections went well, prompting skepticism from councilors and an audible reaction from the public. After the meeting, he told The Times Record that he had asked the MRRA about inspections following the spill and they had been told that hangars were still being inspected.

He confirmed that the Fire Department had not formally requested the reports and that rescue teams at the scene on August 19 were busy switching off the faulty fire extinguishing system.

“If you’re not doing a specific check for a specific reason, you’re generally not looking for it,” Brillant said.

The Portland Press Herald revealed last Thursday that last year’s inspection of MRRA’s Hangar 4 found deficiencies in its system. The discovery comes three weeks after Executive Director Kristine Logan told a news conference that last year’s inspection reports for Hangar 4 were clean.

The revelation sparked outrage among local leaders, who called another press conference on September 12, this time demanding Logan’s immediate resignation.

MRRA board chairman Herman “Nick” Nichols spoke out against the decision after the press conference, stating he supported Logan and her team.

Nichols also said that calls to turn off the airport’s fire protection systems are not possible. He argued that fire regulations make it illegal to turn off the system, and that turning it off would have an immediate economic impact on the airport’s aviation tenants.

At Monday night’s meeting, the council voted unanimously to advance the MRRA’s seven action points. The city reconsidered a recently adopted resolution calling for comprehensive action, accountability by the MRRA and reporting from other state entities involved in the cleanup. The resolution was sent to Gov. Janet Mills on Sept. 6.

Councilman James Ecker, who prepared some of the motions, said the most frustrating aspect of the situation is the city’s lack of oversight of the MRRA.

“It’s been a very tumultuous month on this issue,” Ecker said at the meeting.

Councilwoman Jennifer Hicks was more emphatic, saying she wasn’t happy with previous conversations with the MRRA. She also said she wasn’t sure she could believe anything the MRRA was telling the council. She said she was “furious” and felt Nichols’ response to last week’s outcry was inadequate. Essentially, she said, the public only hears from the MRRA when an entity resists.

“There are lives at stake here,” Hicks said. “… We have a lot of people who are very angry about the MRRA. … Trust has been broken.”

The council’s proposed list of steps for the MRRA to take includes a call to turn off fire protection systems by the end of this month.

Other demands include a request for the MRRA to hire a fire protection specialist to provide advice on Hangar 6, improve communication, ensure public notice and recording of MRRA board meetings and take action to add representatives from the City of Brunswick to the board.

The local decision comes on the heels of a letter calling for the Navy to help clean up the devastating firefighting foam spill at Brunswick Landing, signed by Rep. Chellie Pingree, Sen. Susan Collins, Rep. Jared Golden and Sen. Angus King, who is also a Brunswick resident.

“Our constituents are deeply concerned about the short- and long-term health and environmental impacts of this spill, as well as the potential for future incidents as AFFF foam continues to be present at the site,” the letter, dated Sept. 16, reads.

The letter also expressed concern that thousands of gallons of AFFF were still in other hangars on the base, especially since the Navy planned to remove the concentrate from Hangar 4 this month.

The location of the MRRA board meeting has not yet been determined, but it will be held on September 20 at 3:00 p.m.